5814 Wilshire Blvd / Los Angeles, California 90036
Tel. 323.937.4230 / Fax 323. 937.5576
www.cafam.org
FOR IMM EDIA TE RE LE A SE
CONTACT: Sonja Cendak Exhibitions and Publicity
T. 323.937.4230 x25 / [email protected]
Harmless plaything or cultural tool?
PAPER CUTS: 200 YEARS OF BLACK PAPER DOLLS
January 25 – March 29, 2009
Toys, like other artifacts of material culture, reveal much about prevailing
cultural attitudes and the exercise of power in society. Mass produced
toys, such as paper dolls, are specifically designed for wide appeal and,
therefore, reflect dominant attitudes and values—often at the expense of
subordinated cultures. Since a successful toy must delight and interest a
child, comical and simplistic caricatures of minorities often occur both to
entertain as well as to draw a line between dominant and subordinate
cultures.
Opening January 25, 2009 in honor of African American History Month,
Paper Cuts: 200 Years of Black Paper Dolls documents the evolving
cultural images of African Americans throughout the last 200 years: from
Little Black Sambo to Tiger Woods; from Josephine Baker to Beyoncé.
Drawn from the extensive collection of writer and researcher Arabella
Grayson, the exhibit will feature some of the first black paper dolls
produced in the United States—the family of characters from Harriet
Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin—and the rise of one of the most
recognizable African Americans in advertising, Aunt Jemimah. Using
paper dolls as social and historic markers, the exhibit travels from the civil
rights movement to present day sports and entertainment figures while
illuminating changing cultural images of African Americans.
Paper Cuts presents an enlightening, and often unsettling, record of American cultural
attitudes. No longer simple playthings, paper dolls are vehicles of satire, of critique, and, more
importantly, are a tribute to exceptional people and events. Paper Cuts will be a learning
experience both in the gallery and in a host of workshops, tours, and classes scheduled during
this not-to-miss exhibit.
*** Images available upon request ***
About CAFAM
…because a shrinking world requires an EXPANDED mind.
CAFAM champions cultural understanding by encouraging curiosity about our diverse world.
Our exhibits and programs serve as a catalyst for the exploration of art and ideas that reflect
our ever-changing community. In a shrinking world, CAFAM believes in building common
ground. As the twenty-first century brings global cultures ever closer together, we often find
ourselves traveling in unfamiliar lands. This mapless new landscape requires inter-cultural
fluency and frequent trips to CAFAM.
CAFAM
5814 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Information
Tel. 323-937-4230
www.cafam.org
Museum Hours
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday 11 am – 5 pm
Thursday 11 am – 7 pm
Saturday and Sunday 12 – 6 pm
Museum Admission
General $5.00 / Students and Seniors 3.00
Members and Children under 12 Free / Free 1st Wednesday of month
PAPER CUTS: 200 YEARS OF BLACK PAPER DOLLS
January 25 – March 29, 2009
Craft and Folk Art Museum
IMAGE LIST
(image1)
Sally Hemings
Artist: Donald Hendricks
Legacy Designs, circa 2000
• Paper doll with three fashionable outfits with twopage biographical narrative on Sally Hemings and
Thomas Jefferson and their relationship.
(image2)
I'se Topsey Doll
C&H Sugar Recipe Booklet, 1930s
• A character from Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the bestselling novel of the mid-1800s, the young slave girl
Topsey is the first black American paper doll.
(image3)
Gone With the Wind – Part One
Artist: Bob Harman
Bob Harman Publications, 1988 (Illustrated 1975)
(image4)
Aunt Jemima
J. Ottman Lithography Co., New York, 1895
(image 5)
Josephine Baker
Artist: Bruce Patrick Jones
Bruce Patrick Jones Designs, 1997
• A nude torso of the doll plus six outfits.